Making a Murderer’s Steven Avery wins right to appeal

A major breakthrough...

THE CONVICTED murderer at the centre of the hit Netflix true crime documentary series Making A Murder is set to have his case re-examined by a Wisconsin court.

Stephen Avery was handed a life sentence for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005 but has always maintained his innocence.

The case will now be re-assessed after Avery’s lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, won a motion to appeal based around a series of possible human bones discovered in a gravel pit.

According to Zellner, these bones never underwent DNA testing and were instead handed over to the Halbach family.

This is a violation of state law, she argued, with the return of the bones meaning possibly crucial evidence that could have undergone further testing was missing from the case.

Avery was handed a life sentence along with his nephew Brendan Dassey.

Both men were found guilty of killing Halbach after her charred remains were discovered in a car salvage yard owned by Avery.

The discovery was made a week after Halbach visited the yard to photograph a minivan that was up for sale.

If the bones found in a gravel pit are found to belong to Halbach then Zellner argues that it could seriously undermine the prosecution theory that Halbach was killed at the Avery residence.

“This evidence has the potential to undo the whole case, so it is a big win,” she told Newsweek.

“The case is being remanded back to the circuit court to conduct proceedings, which can include a hearing. The circuit court can grant a new trial, or if not, back to appellate court who can reverse the conviction and/or grant a new trial.”

Steven Avery’s post-conviction lawyer Kathleen Zellner (Image: Getty)

Any evidence related to the bones can now be submitted.

Ms Zellner also tweeted: “We are going to have an extraordinary number of constitutional violations when we are done. The [court of appeals] is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record. Higher courts rule.”

The hit Netflix series Making A Murderer cast serious doubt on the investigation and convictions of both Avery and Massey.

The documentary appeared to suggest Massey’s confession was coerced while the fact Avery previously served 18 years behind bars for another murder it was later found he didn’t commit was also factored in.